THE SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
55 
laiijQ; De-iile-i, to vis caoiioi see at all, heinst 
qaiie staoifieel anlheloless in the dark, conse- 
qa--nily the leathere'i trilte al ivays retire to roost 
before the sun goes down. Shutters to the gla- 
zed windows are unnecessary, except for better 
security, or to prevent fowds from leavinsr their 
ro ISIS too early in the morning, to disturb tick- 
lish neighbors, otherwise they come out almost 
as soon asdav-iight begins to appear. The feed- 
ing places, it under cover, so much the better, 
as a precaution lor wet weather, and as far as 
possible removed irom the nests, that the hens 
which happen to be laying at the time, or which 
may be sitting, mav not be disturbed and enticed 
off their nest and eggs at improper times. Be- 
ing evidently natives of a warm country, they 
are scarceiv vet perfectly acclimared to our va- 
riable an 1 col ler regions; although so widelv 
diff i-ed from time i mmemoriai over the whole 
face of the-gl one, they have retained a peculiar 
susceptibility ot oarno and chillness, most ol 
their diseases arising from rheum, or catarrh 
catching colds. The lungs ol fowls are parti- 
culady tender; the finer the species the less is it j 
ha-rdv. 
Clea,nUness . — Fowls being cleanlv by nature, 
thrive when regul.arly attended, but degenerate 
and sicken if neglected. In an artificial state 
of existence, they require to be supplied by art 
with what in nature they wmuld obtain tor 
themselves. For this purpose they should have j 
a regular supply; in some convenient part of 
the shed, ot sifted cinders daily to roll in and 
cleanse tben selves, and which should be often 
changed. This precaution will keep them en- 
tirely Iree from vermin of any de.scripiion. 
Green Fond —This being quite as necessary 
for health as corn, to supplvthis requirement ol 
nature, they should have daily a good supply of' 
sweet and Iresh green vegetables. Cabbage 
and lettuce are the best — turnip-tops and water- 
cresses — but on no account any sour plants, 
which scour them as do spinnach, the cuttings 
from grass plats, and most sorts of garden seeds, 
as their instinct does not serve them to choose 
the whole.some from the noxious weeds, more 
than it does animals that happen to stray in a 
clover-fi^l 1, or happen to receive too large a 
quantity into thsir s'ables. I have known them 
to burst. Green food with fowls is an astrin- 
gent, the very reverse of wliat vegetables are 
w th us. This fact will notappear so surprising, 
when it is recollected that one takes them raw, j 
and the other cooked. 
A plentiful supnly of clean water, in daily i 
well cleansed vessels, and wholsome food are } 
necessary. Frequent changes and mixtures of j 
corn improve the appetite. Barley is decided- 
ly their staple.food in this country ; Indian corn, 
or sometimes rice, mi.xed, for a change. Oats 
cccasionallv, buf in too large quantity, are apt : 
to scour. Occasionally buckwheat and hemp 
seed, as a stimulant, mixed with the barley for 
a change, are very beneficial, paTticularlv whilst 
moulting. One meal may be composed of boil- 
ed or steamed potatoes, w^ll mashed up whilst 
hot, with a portion of barleymeal or oatmeal for 
a change, but w'hich must he allowed to remain 
till cold. Books copying errors trom one anoih 
er. make a great mistake in advising food to he 
given hot. It is unnatural — they have no good 
cooks amongst them in their own state; and it 
is decidedly injurious to their digestive organs, 
except when fattening, when 'hey are doomed 
soon to be killed for table. Feed twice a dav 
at least, or three limes if not loo fattening; 
morning earlv, before the usual hour for laying, j 
if possible; at noon, the noontide meal jnay be j 
the poiaioesj as above directed, and before sun- i 
set —no later than lour o'clock — that they may! 
go to roost by daylight, or they will go without j 
their fool. Regul.arity greatly lends to health, j 
and disturbance of any sort is very hurtful. — 
Rice occasionally boiled in a cloth, greatly in- ! 
creases its bulk, and they are very fond of it. — 
Reaumur says, that great economy is derived 
fiom steeping or boiling the barley, to increase 
its bulk, when they will be satisfied with one 
third less quantity. But I cannot speakof this j 
from ray own experience, nor can I say that 
beneficial etfecis are produced tiy giving them 
much flesh, raw or boiled. But lat, as advised 
in books, produces scourings; spiced or salt 
meats, and kitchen studs, are certainly perni- 
cious to their stomachs In fattening lor the 
table, when they are not required to live I mg, or 
show fine feather, this may not be ot anv conse 
quence. Will some ol your practical corres- 
pondents enlighfer US'? They require in pens, 
or small yards in towns, to be well supplied with 
grit, s.and, and small gravel; slaked lime, and 
old mortar pounded is verv beneficial, and 'ser- 
viceable in assisting to make the pen or yard 
dry. 1 will add to the above, that there is no 
economy in Keeping poultry in towns, in small 
quantities, which is always exceedingly expen- 
sive, it well fe 1 and taken care of ; wnich, how- 
ever, is compensated lor, to those who wish to 
make certain that the eggs are quite fresh and 
newly laid. All calculations of expense must 
be erroneous, there being so many contingent 
expenses. As a source ot trade, much depends 
upon r-earing ihe-best breeds, to be early in the 
season, laying in a stock and store at prooer 
times, having a ready sale for produce, and to 
“ buy cheaj), and sell dear.” 
From the N. Y. Firmer and Mechanic. 
The Four, aui Hundred Acre Farmers. 
In journeying through the State of R.hode Is- 
land, the traveller in that State, as in most 
others, discovers a great variety of interests 
and almost every specus of husbandry, from the 
very best to none at all, as you may say. A 
few days since I fell in conapany with a gentle- 
man who had just purchased a farm, for which 
be paid StT.OOO, every dollar of which he had 
saved from the income of his garden or farm, 
consisting of only four acres ot land, (and that 
not of the first quality in the natural state,) be- 
sides supporting his family. 1 asked him lor 
the secret, as I was sme he possessed one, 
which he gave me as follows. “First,” said 
he, “ I prepare my ground, and never use any 
but the best of seed, and that mostly of my own 
raising, and always put it in in good season, 
and often take two crops from the same ground 
bv putting in vegetables that ripen early and 
then those that are late. And, again, I never 
carry anything into the market except it is of 
the first quality or quality recommended, sell it 
for what it is, and not for what it is not. Al- 
ways sort ray potatoes and all other vegetables, 
and vary the price according to quality; yet I 
can gel more for each quality in proportion to 
mean cost or price of whole by so doing; fre- 
quently sell potatoes from 10 to 15 cents per bu- 
shel. Allow the market price and other kinds 
in same proportion, and only because the buyer 
knows he can depend upon having just the sort, 
kind or quality that he ordeis or purchases. 
Near bv. was a farmer with an hundred acres of 
equally good land who was hardly ab e to make 
the ends meet, (as the saying is,) ye‘ was in- 
dustrious and had a healthy family. Again for 
the secret. Well, he did network his land; 
had too much and could not; went over it and 
left it to work itself; was obliged to fence more, 
and do ajhousand things that the man of four 
acres was free from; and w’hen he went to mar- 
ket went in a hurry, and in such shape as was 
most convenient and in such order as the time 
he allolied bim'self would allow ; always a little 
late iu the season, and usually found a falling 
price. Had he sold one half of hi< farm of 100 
acres and boaght manure, and hired help to pro- 
perly till the ofher he might long ere this have 
brought it back and another with if of equal 
value. 
In a few instances I saw farmers carting ma- 
nure from their yards and putting it in Reaps in 
the field for spring use. This 1 call anything 
but good husbandry, as the manure Ry laying 
in the yard through the summer and exposed to 
the frosts and storms of winter, must waste at 
least one half its virtues, i^s the grass crop in 
New England is by far the most profitable I 
think, that the fine manure and whatever is 
made through the summer, should be put on to 
the land mat is seeded in the lall, and then the 
yards cleared in the spring, and whether coarse 
or fine, be either plowed or harrowed in spring 
for crop. Muck fro i its resting place should 
be hauled out in the fall or summer, and expo- 
sed to frosts and storms to decompose and 
sweeten it a little if a present profit is wanted, 
and in the spring before using put in unslaked 
lime, and woik it over, and you will be sure of 
a rich return for labor thusexpended. 
From the American Agricaltarist. 
Buckwheat. 
Buckwheat is a native of Northern Asia, and 
seems to have been introduced into our country 
at its hrsi settlement. It stands lowest among 
the grain crops ot the larmer, and is seldom in- 
cluded in any regular rotation, but is cultivated 
on some piece of new land, or some field out of 
its regular order. 
Mr. Ellsworth’s Report for 1844, makes the 
xvhole crop grown in the United States, 9,000,- 
000 bushels. More than two thirds of this is 
grown in the States of New York and Pennsyl- 
vania. "Among the New England States, Con- 
necticut takes the lead, while Ohio is most en- 
gaged in its cultivation in the valley of the West. 
Among some farmers its cultivation is induc- 
ed by the little comparative outlay of seed and 
labor, and the quickness of the returns. 
By some it has been considered a very ex- 
hausting crop; but this is by no means the ge- 
nerally received opinion. It is more easily af- 
fected by the weather than any other grain, and 
a dry season, a hot sun upon the blossoms, or 
an early frost, is sufficient to seal its ruin ; but 
if the season is propitious, good crops are often 
gro'^n on very poor land. 
It is generally sown about the first of July, 
and about half a bushel of seed to the acre is 
required. The belter the ground the less seed 
is wanted; the most successful cultivators con- 
sidering it an object to have a rather thin stand, 
large straw, and well branched out, in order to 
have a good yield. Rye is sometimes sown 
w'ith it, and a tolerable yield obtained when the 
season favors. Thus two crops are obtained 
W'ith the same plow'ing. 
About 175 lbs. of grain are required lor 100 
lbs. ol flour, and different mills will produce 
very different qualities with the same quantity 
of grain. The essentials of good buckwheat 
flour are whiteness, absence ot all grit, and a 
clean, soft handling. 
The bread, or rather cakes, made of this 
grain, in some sections, is considered essential 
to a cold w’eather meal. In its season, it is 
used almost exclusively by the poorer classes, 
both on the score of economy and convenience. 
Medical men have pronounced them unhealthy, 
and no wonder they should do so, if their judg- 
ment is made upon the heavy, leaden things 
that so olten come upon the table under the name 
of ‘ buckwheat cakes.’ As in other things, there 
is sMgkt in the baking. Our countrywomen 
are lar ahead of your city cooks in this mrtter. 
Some analysis ot this grain have shown it to 
be nutritious. It is said by Professor Johnston 
to contain gluten, starch and sugar, nearly equal 
to some varieties of wheat. But a hard-work- 
ing German once in our employ, said it would 
do very well lor supper, to sleep on, but not for 
breakfast or dinner, to sustain him at his labor. 
The German’s analysis was a real practical one. 
Give me experience, yet. 
Most kinds ol stock are fond of this grain 
when ground; and it is the best of “slop” for 
cows, producing an extra flow and better milk. 
Probably three-lourihs of the crop is consum- 
ed where it is raised, and retailed in the country 
tow'nsand villages. Except in some sections, 
the city markets are seldom resorted to. For 
New York it is put up in kegs or bags of 100, 
50, or 25 lbs, each. It is generally sold in lots 
to wholesale flour dealers, from whom the gro- 
cers obtain and retail it. It is now bringing 
(Nov. 1st,) about .$2 per 100 lbs in bags or bar- 
rels, in the city of New York, according to the 
newspapers. A. R. D. 
ffackettstown^ N, J. 
